29 Leigboury V

Calluna's amber-toned eye began to pool with tears when she felt the governor's skull break beneath the blade she wielded; but there was no time to digest the fact she had taken another human's life.

Crimson balls of light exploded from the wound and began to bounce sporadically between the walls, floor, and ceiling. Each orb radiated overwhelming heat that burned when flying past Calluna's skin, and were bright enough to make her squint as they rushed across her line of vision.

She observed with great interest as the dancing lights moved about the hall. They sprang here and there, never staying in a single spot, and faint tinkling sounds reminiscent of bells could be heard each time they made contact with a hard surface.

After several moments each light froze in place, then moved to reorganize themselves. They made a neat line in the middle of the air and began trailing to the space beneath Calluna's cloak, where Scarlet was. As soon as they got near to the lump that was the small dragon girl, they fell and melted into the hidden figure like snow.

The crown prince's mouth opened slightly as she watched Scarlet transform beneath the fabric of her cloak, tripling in size until a tired human girl's head poked out. Scarlet laid face down even after completely changing into a humanoid figure, not even speaking a single word. The girl had a very soft red glow emanating from her entire body, and the strange sparks were completely gone.

Calluna glanced down at the governor once more and noticed how gaunt and sunken in his features were. She also realized the blood that had oozed from his eye had dried onto the corpse's cold, wrinkled skin.

Suddenly, her stomach grew a will of its own. She couldn't stop the urge to vomit, and ended up flinging herself away from Scarlet and the dead body to retch all over the floor.

'I just killed someone,' Calluna thought in frustration, a tear prickling in her eye once more. 'My first time seeing a dead body and it's one that I created myself.'

The blonde woman continued to heave long after her belly was empty, the stench of blood that permeated the hall's atmosphere causing her organs to do repeated flips. She sat there, keeled over the tile with one of her hands pressed against the wall for balance. Her arms shook unwillingly and her nose became stuffy from all of the crying and throwing up she had done.

"Thank you," a small voice came from beside her, and Calluna felt thin, shivering fingers grasp her wrist. Calluna turned to face the speaker, and was met with a familiar red gaze… though this time it belonged to a human and not a dragon. Scarlet looked at her with tears in her own eyes and collapsed into the prince's chest. "I'm sorry for being a burden."

"You're not a burden," Calluna replied, voice hoarse. "I'd do it again if given the same choice."

After their brief embrace, the girl pulled away stiffly. It was clear to Calluna that the dragon was still injured, even in her humanoid form, by her weak movements. It appeared that Scarlet was clothed in a tattered maid uniform even beneath the prince's cloak. Her hair was a deep purple that most would assume to be black, and her eyes that had been red previously were now a dark brown.

Calluna frowned at the girl, who appeared to have a slight tremor throughout her body that caused pulsating waves of shakes. "Are you still injured?"

Scarlet hesitated a moment before giving a nod. She used her bruised hands to lift the cloak slightly, revealing a large open wound on her flank that was still bleeding. Calluna gasped, her heart dropping into her already sick stomach.

"It's already started healing," the girl muttered. "My older brother… he should be here soon to get me."

"He knows where you are?"

Scarlet leaned up against the wall and heaved a pained sigh. "Now that I have my Soulstone back, he should be able to sense where I am."

Calluna crossed her arms and rested them over her stomach, "Really? Does that mean that you can sense him as well?"

"Yes," the girl nodded.

"How interesting."

Their conversation was brief and ended comfortably there. Scarlet moved herself beside Calluna and rested her head on the prince's shoulder, dark hair covering her face. Calluna welcomed the warmth, as she had grown chilled after all of the vomiting she had done.

"Where is your family from?" Calluna asked after a moment.

"...Don't you already know that?" Scarlet asked, a skeptical lilt in her voice. "There aren't many like me."

"I… don't remember," she replied with an awkward laugh.

Scarlet looked up at her, eyebrows knit and a mysterious twinkle in her eyes. If Calluna weren't mistaken, it almost seemed as though the girl wanted to poke fun at her. Something about her facial expression screamed mischief, and the crown prince couldn't quite pinpoint what it was; perhaps the slight smirk or the ghost of a dimple appearing on her cheek.

"How can you forget something like that? The Draceeri are creatures of legend," Scarlet wondered. "Feared by the entire world, beings cursed with dragonblood?"

At the mention of 'Draceeri,' Calluna suddenly remembered one of the children's books she had been reading to practice her Kili. It was about a child whose village was destroyed by dragons and she had to move to the capital. It was certainly a dark premise in Calluna's opinion, especially considering it was labeled for children… but she had decided to ignore it.

The read was interesting enough, but looking back on it made the prince wonder what exactly the story was originally inspired by… which led to her reading (or attempting to read) all the books on dragons that she could find in the Royal Library. From what little she could actually understand out of the texts, Calluna gleaned that the Draceeri were a race of people that could shift between human and dragon. They were banished or cast out due to multiple conflicts, but she wasn't sure what exactly the problems were since her illiteracy proved itself to be quite the burden.

"I… remember a little, but not very much. I'm sorry," Calluna said sadly.

"It's probably best if you don't remember much," the girl muttered. "Otherwise you might regret saving my life... or worse, you may not have saved my life in the first place."

Calluna frowned and looked down at the girl, whose head was resting against her shoulder. "I don't care who you are, you don't deserve to be treated like that. I'd rescue you regardless."

Scarlet met the prince's gaze, and started to cry. Unbridled, messy sobs escaped the frail girl's chapped and bloody lips. She buried her face into the velvet on Calluna's shoulder and remained that way for some time. The blonde woman reached up a shaky hand and pressed it firmly against the back of Scarlet's head, indicating her resolve and desire to help.

"Your Highness! I-"

Calluna looked up to see Flora returning with a bucket of water and some fresh clothes. The maid's eyes widened and began to spill tears as soon as she saw the crumpled figure of her friend. She gasped and hurried toward the prince, placing the bucket of water down beside the tired pair.

"Scarlet! You're okay!" Flora cried. "I'm s-so glad…"

Scarlet moved her head away from Calluna's side and smiled weakly at the maid. "I'm doing my best."

"I-" Flora only then seemed to notice the lifeless form of the governor on the ground just a few feet away. To Calluna's surprise, though, the girl stood from her place and approached the body with a confident stride.

And then she spit.

Flora spat directly onto the corpse's face and stared at the man with so much contempt, Calluna could have sworn the temperature of the room increased several degrees. Flora glared at him for a long while before turning back to Scarlet. She rummaged through her pockets and brought out a bunch of medicinal herbs to begin treating her friend's wounds.

Calluna took a deep breath, allowing her lungs to fill completely. She tried to ignore the metallic stench of blood in the air, and tried even harder to ignore the crimson stains on her fingers and the blade resting at her side. The prince fought back tears for the millionth time since her transmigration.

She felt the all too familiar aching of her ribs, and the stabbing pain at the base of her spine. They had started to return that morning, and in the rush of her morning she had forgotten to take more of Wesley's pain tonic.

'I don't know how long I can do this,' Calluna thought to herself.

Though she was technically an adult, and even an older one at that, she often found herself wishing there was someone to take care of her, too.